My first post so quick hello to everybody.

In 8-15 knts wind,having problems with jib trim whilst beating or close reachig on my Vago.

Upper windward t/tail dancing, lower leeward t/tail dancing, mid t/tails fine or matching upper.

Main  - no cunningham, & combinations of no/little vang and/or very tight/eased sheet.

Have shroud tension at 13 (set by jib halyard),Laser say max must be 15.

Any clues?

Indeed!

Seems very slack to me too, but thought if Laser are saying absolute max 15, thought 13 in this windspeed would suffice.

Sounds like you have too much twist in your jib ie the bottom of the sail is over-sheeted in order to sheet in the top of the jib far enough.

Well I can never get ALL the teltails looking the same on my laser 2 either.  The top pair are usually astray in a strong wind.

I'd guess you need more jib leech tension to create less twist which means pulling down on the jib tack more.  However, I also guess the Vago has the same lack of forward / aft adjustment on the jib cleat position as my laser 2; so you can't adjust the jib leech tension independently of its angle of attack; that means you can't control the amount of twist in the jib very well. Can you attach the jib sheet higher up the sail?  Ie is there more than one attachment point? Or if poss. move the cleats towards the bow?

Failing perfect adjustment just concentrate on getting the average of the bottom pair of tell tails right, as the bottom of the jib is where most of the power is. 

Doubtless someone else will have a different opinion.. (always do on this site) so you'll have to take an average!

Good luck.

PS: beware of too much tension.  RS400s are stiff fibre glass, the VAgo isn't!!!

Same problem on my laser 2,  I put it down to mast rake, the further back the mast is raked the further forward the Jib cleats need to go otherwise you cant get rid of the twist in the jib.... I might be completely wrong on this though.

 Dont know if this helps with the Vago.

As Nick A says, it sounds as if there's too much twist in the jib. Can you not just sheet it harder?

If you're already stretching the jib to death, try raking the mast further forward. If that would mean raking too far forward for helm balance, try adding a shackle between the jib and furler to raise the whole jib and effectively steepen the sheeting angle.

When the boat still gets beaten by everything in sight, sell it and buy a 3000!

Yes too much twist in the jib, and you always get too much on a reach so my advice is just get it right on the beats and the way to do that is either sheet in a touch more or move the fairleads forward (if you can).  However I find boats more responsive and accelerative in strong winds if in just the condition you describe - so if you are over powered don't worry about it.  A much worse fault is with the top tell tale over sheeted and the bottom tell tale undersheeted.

Rig tension may be a factor - but let's face it a boat made of polyprop is never going to be able to take much rig tension without bending like a banana.  Just to give you an idea we use 37 on our Laser 4000.

[QUOTE=Granite]If you cant move the sheeting position to get the correct twist then moving the jib vertically up and down the forestay can have the same effect, you could experiment with different shackles at the bottom.


Granites right you cant adjust the fair lead position so the only way to alter your sheeting position is to change the sheeting angle through the height of the jib off the deck. As i remeber aftrer rigging about 8 fevas for our club is that the block at the top of the mast is connected by a length of rope try shortening the rope which will bring the height of the jib up off the deck therefore giving you a steeper sheeting angle effectively moving your fairleads back which should close you leach.

Have fun dont worry if you cant understand i cant wither but i know what i mean.

The Vago has been designed for a low rig tension, i.e. gust response with the untapered mast is provided by the low rig tension allowing the mast to move. Excessive rig tension will just cause the boat to bend, which is not good.

Thinking a stage further, I can just imagine Laser's next claim being that the Vago's hull stiffness is advantageous.

"Optimal gust response is ensured by dynamic flex in the hull..."

Bendy-Boats, don't you just love 'em?